‘Sudanese military leaders not ready for complete ceasefire’

 The top United Nations (UN) envoy for Sudan said on Tuesday that the military leaders of the warring parties in Sudan are not ready for a complete ceasefire.

“Both leaders (of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Sup­port Forces) have not been able to fully commit to a complete ceasefire or implement one.

“The two generals continue trad­ing accusations and issuing com­peting claims of control over key installations,” said Volker Perthes, the UN secretary-general’s special representative and head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan.

There is yet no unequivocal sign that either is ready to seriously ne­gotiate, suggesting that both think that securing a military victory over the other is possible, he said.

“This is a miscalculation. As fighting continues, law and order will further break down throughout the country, and command and control will dissipate.

“Sudan could become increasing­ly fragmented, which would have a devastating impact on the region,” he warned. And even if one side wins, Sudan will lose, said Perthes.

A 72-hour ceasefire, brokered by the United States on Monday, seems to be holding in some parts of Sudan so far. However, there have been reports of fighting and movement of troops.

The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, he said via a video link from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, where nearly 1,200 people, including 744 UN staff and their dependents, international nongov­ernmental organisation staff and their dependents, and diplomatic staff from several embassies, were relocated from the capital city of Khartoum on Monday.

In Khartoum, fighting around the Republican Palace, Khartoum international airport, Sudanese Armed Forces headquarters, Rapid Support Forces bases, and other strategic locations have largely con­tinued or in some cases intensified.

Airstrikes and heavy shelling have also continued, particularly in Bahri and Omdurman on the outskirts of Khartoum. Khartoum airport is reportedly now opera­tional, but its aprons are damaged, he said.

Residential areas near installa­tions of the two military factions have come under persistent attacks. Homes, shops, schools, water and electricity installations, mosques, hospitals, and other health facilities have been damaged or destroyed. —Xinhua